A madcap adventure which spans the globe from the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania to the land of the Pharaohs...A deadly mystery which races from the sidewalks of Paris to the shores of a tropical paradise, all in pur... more &raquosuit of a world-class art collection--by theft!&laquo less

Movie Reviews

"I love this movie, but it is a simply atrocious to release a Japanese movie on DVD without including the original Japanese language dialogue as an optional audio track."

Not the best *Lupin* movie, but a pretty good movie itself.

12/23/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, the DVD is pathetically equipped, with a menu that totals to a scene select. There is no Japanese language version with or without subtitles (probably because the company who dubbed it, Streamline Pictures, never made a subtitled version to begin with). The movie itself, however, is very interesting, even if it lacks the animation and spit-and-polish of "Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro." Supposedly, a little blue-fleshed fellow named Mamo has been hanging around Earth for the past several thousand years by self-cloning. Mamo, a psychopath, also claims that he has controlled all of human history and even cloned Lupin III himself (who may very well be dead, hung in Transylvania). Character tensions are detailed, and everyone watching can see how the director felt the players in the film should interact with each other (and it's in a very different way than in the "Lupin III" works of Hayao Miyazaki). All-in-all, it's a pretty good movie, but it takes quite a while to get past the toothpick-like character design and the far-less-than-teriffic animation. Once you get through the slug, it's a fun little ride with some good jokes thrown in, too. But, it's still no "Cagliostro Castle".... Final plug: Visit my Lupin III Webpage!"

Not Miyazaki's Lupin, but an energetic action anime ...

04/24/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"'Mamo' may be known to some American fans already as the secondary footage in the Laser Disk arcade game 'Cliff Hanger' from 1983. While this film doesn't match the personalities or situations in Miyazaki's Lupin masterpieces, it does stand on its own as a decent anime effort from the late seventies. The first half of 'Mamo' is an incredible globe hopping action adventure going through the Giza pyramids, Transylvanian castles, Paris streets and sewers, Spanish desert and cities and onto an American aircraft carrier. All the sequences are well thought out with a variety of ingenious villains until the middle of the film where Lupin and gang end up on Mamo's headquarter island in the Carribean sea. Suddenly, the plot stagnates and wanders almost aimlessly for the next fourty minutes before the bizarre wrap up. The uninteresting latter half is probably due to the director trying to follow the Lupin manga without proper editing. The DVD version is a little lack luster, but it is still a good film and the english dub is very good. Get it; it's decent."

With Japanese and English dialogue! Lupin's first movie!!

Arsenio Lupin | Japan | 07/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big fan of Lupin the 3rd and I saw all Lupin anime episodes from the pilot film to the last one. Secret of Mamo is one of the best Lupin episodes ever made, as good as Miyazaki's "The Castle of Cagliostro"
It contains a lot of mystery. Mamo is really a mysterious character and is said to be Lupin's biggest enemy!
This is anime, but it has a very deep theme, "Is to be immortal really make people happpy?"
People call this move "great humbug", It contais a lot of scenes which many people consider silly but we enjoy it because it is silly. There're not so many movies that we are fond of because they are silly.
Actually, this movie has been translated into English FOUR TIMES! One for Japan Air Line, one for USA(translated by other company under the title of "Mystery of Mamo") and one for UK(under the title of "Secret of Mamo"). This is the fourth translation. This fact proves how good this movie is.
This DVD OF COURSE has both English and Japanese dialogue. All Lupin and anime fan will enjoy it. But it may be hard to understand for small children."

Great fun at the movies..

H. A Huffman | Mt. Prospect, IL USA | 05/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Billed as the first Lupin III movie, "The Secret of Mamo" is a lot of fun to watch. The animation is not the greatest, but the storyline is interesting and contains some very funny scenes. The action is fast and furious and filled with gunplay and narrow escapes. If you've seen and enjoyed other Lupin features like "Castle of Cagliostro" then you will like this one."